One Be Lo may still best be known as one half of the legendary underground duo Binary Star, but he’s been recording and performing as a solo artist fro quite some time. If you’ve been following the Michigan emcee’s career, you know that every album title is an acronym, and the new album is no exception. This time, we’re given several choices as to what LABOR stands for. There’s Language Arts Based On Reality, Love Allah Bills Opportunity Revolution, Land Agriculture Beasts Occupation Resources, Large Animals Bovines Obedient Reliable, and Locusts, Ants, Bees, and Roaches.

For this album, he enlisted the all-female band DL7 to back him, and they bring an incredible amount of energy and swagger to the recordings. The grooves that force your head to bob, and demand that the volume be turned up. They can bring the smooth R&B, some hard hitting boom bap, or some heavy classic rock riffs. I can only imagine how powerful a live performance is with them on stage.

The biggest complaint I have with the record is that it’s a little on the long side, coming in at 21 tracks and over an hour in length. There’s a little bit of fat that could have been trimmed to make it a more concise listening experience that would give it more impact, starting with the opening sketch. In general, I’d error on the side of cutting skits all together, given their low success rate on records. At the very least, keep it short, since the biggest problem I encounter with skits on records is that they go on too long. The other complaint is that there are a few times where Lo opts for a juvenile rhyme, such as on “The ANT (i matter),” when he drops the line, “Wide open, like the legs of a whore - get it?” It’s a line he’s much better than, and it’s in the middle of a bunch of really interesting rhymes and brings the song down.

These complaints aside, we’re looking at a very strong and challenging album from a veteran emcee. One Be Lo took on the task of creating an elaborate animal metaphor for the whole album, and using it as a springboard to criticize consumerism, along with other aspects of society. A song like “Ox Y Moron” takes a long look at how hard it is to act responsible once you get a little bit of money. “PIGS” is one of the best discussions about the struggle with police I’ve heard in years. It’s certainly one of the most interesting albums to come out this year.

If my complaints about the album weren’t there, this album would probably be amongst the contenders for album of the year. As it is, this is still a very solid release from one of the best emcees in the business. One Be Lo has plenty to discuss, and LABOR presents everything in a way that is both entertaining and thought-provoking.